Page 5 of Accidental Blind Date

“What guy?” she asks, fixing me another drink.

“The guy the girl is waiting for.”

“Jax, I think. But I’m telling you. Bro ain’t gonna show. I think I’m going to give her the next drink on the house.”

“I got it,” I say.

Madeline doesn’t say anything. She just makes both the drinks and hands them to me.

I have no idea what’s gotten into me. Bourbon, annoyance with the lack of decency in the world, or maybe the need to stop sulking and make something of the night.

But what I do next is so out of character for me that even I am shocked I’m doing it.

And I do it anyways.

“Sorry I’m late,” I say as I approach the table.

She looks up at me and my fucking God those eyes are even more stunning up close. “I didn’t realize you were here yet and wanted to grab us a drink.”

“Oh,” she says, standing up to face me.

And for the first time tonight, I smile. “Hi. I’m Jax.”

Chapter 1

Libby

Earlier

Libby- Is it too late to back out of a blind date?

Joni- More like too early! And it’s not a blind date. You know what he looks like.

Libby- Barely. He had one profile picture. And it was black and white, and he wasn’t even facing the camera. And I think I’m gonna puke.

Joni- LOL. You’ll be fine. I have your location and I’m literally right down the street. Just breathe. You know what they say…

Libby- No. I don’t. What do they say?

Joni- The first date after divorce is the hardest. And the best…

I put my phone away because if my best friend and I talk about it anymore, I am for sure going to puke all over the chips and salsa I haven’t touched.

And it’s not even that they don’t look good.

Tony’s Cantina is quite possibly the most posh, swanky little Mexican place I’ve ever been to. Come to think of it– Boston has a lot to offer that I’ve never experienced.

My ex wasn’t a big ‘eat out’ kind of a guy (in both the restaurant sense of the term…or the other thing…). He wastoo worried about counting macros and getting your morning vitamin D before 9am so that it “actually counts”.

But I don’t want to focus on Shane either.

I am here because Joni has been nagging me for months about “putting myself back out there” and “getting laid for my own benefit." Because of that, this date is posed as just that– a let’s see what happens?

I might be dense in the dating world, but I do know what that means…

If dinner goes well, we are hooking up.

“Hey!” the bartender approaches the table, and I force a smile.